Raise your horns, together with us to glory!
[Dajana] Hu-Hu-Hu! The Vikings are back to haunt across Europe!
It seems, AMON AMARTH have reached the peak of success in their long running career. The band’s tenth studio album, Jomsviking, was released in March and immediately crashed into the charts, with many #1 and top 5 positions around the globe, and got named umpteen times as album of the month, while the band, album and singles are in for voting and award nominations. And Jomsviking is no exception as the Swedes always again release top notch records.
Such a great new record demands an exceptional new tour and so they do. AMON AMARTH embarked on a new headlining world tour, their biggest so far, with a new and stunning stage setting, wild berserks, the Midgard Serpent and a lot of fires. Well… almost…
[Dajana] Yes, AMON AMARTH do it big this time and most of the venues are sold out prior the tour. Well, it doesn’t wonder as the “side dishes” are nothing to be sneezed at. Mighty Bay Area Thrash Metal veterans TESTAMENT join the Viking battle as well as Swedish heavy Stoner/Doom rockers GRAND MAGUS.
And so we crossed the border and went to Tilburg, Netherlands. The renowned Poppodium :: 013 :: (home of Roadburn Festival) is likewise bursting at the seams yet not officially sold out. I guess, somewhat of 10 more tickets to the approx. 2700 ones should have been sold close the doors.
The handling of the masses was really comfortable, especially, as the doors got opened only a half hour prior the show. And the lines were almost twisting around the block. Entry happened in no time, no queues at the Munten machines, and no waits at the bars. Wow! I wish German venue owners would learn a lesson from that! And so many beautiful and nice people around ;)
:: pics :: GRAND MAGUS ::
[Dajana] When the clock struck 7, lights went out and :: GRAND MAGUS :: entered the stage. There was only a tiny strip left for them to play. Luckily there are in a threesome, otherwise it would have been a mess performing. Guitarist and singer JB tried to move and rock out a bit more energetically but failed due to the shortage of space.
Musically, GRAND MAGUS pleased the crowd with a best-of set from the last 5 records with only one song played from this year’s Sword Songs. That did not surprise me, as the last two albums turned out to be a bit randomly in my opinion. Though, a crispy and entertaining 30 minutes set.
[BRT] GRAND MAGUS are and will always be a guarantor for hymn-like and epic songs, full of positive energy - most of all, extremely rocking live on stage. The dudes around JB are much likeable and spare us every airs and graces. But it doesn’t hide the fact that their simplification of songs on the last two records kills their uniqueness. Sure, it’s still Heavy Metal as fuck yet with hardly any finesse and sophistication. Also their epic moments and Nordic atmosphere have suffered, especially on Sword Songs. And I’m afraid it won’t come back again.
Setlist: Intro, I, The Jury, Sword Of The Ocean, Varangian, Steel Versus Steel, Iron Will, Like The Oar Strikes The Water, Hammer Of The North
:: pics :: TESTAMENT ::
[Dajana] Right after a quick 15 minutes change-over followed giving comfortable room for :: TESTAMENT :: to perform and their great snaky stage setting - The Brotherhood Of The Snake has arrived. And with the title track of this brand new album TESTAMENT kicked off their show. Fast, brutal, and with an overwhelming delight to play. After some bad shows recently, I had kept my expectation low… and got blown away. Surprise, surprise. Fucking hell! TESTAMENT were in top form and in high spirits and so was fronter Chuck Billy, vocally as well as physically. That was indeed a crushing show. Who’d have thunk?
[BRT] Yeah! I haven’t seen TESTAMENT playing live for felt 665 years. Seems, I need to see them more often ;) A rugged start and a crumbly sound made me fear the worst, but after 2, 3 minutes the sound engineer got it and everything promptly turned to the better. What an ass-kicking show! Chuck Billy did a great job but much more it was the backing trio with legendary drummer Gene Hoglan, guitarist Alex Skolnick and the best bass player in the world, Mr. Steve DiGiorgio, that made this show so awesome (even if I rather would like to see the rhythm fraction with Dark Angel and Sadus again, but that’s not the topic here, right?). Yes, I agree, it was a great show, I did not expect after I heard from the terrible performance at Rock Hard Festival.
Setlist: Brotherhood Of The Snake, Rise Up, The Pale King, Disciples Of The Watch, The New Order, Dark Roots Of Earth, Stronghold, Into The Pit, Over The Wall, The Formation Of Damnation
:: pics :: AMON AMARTH ::
[Dajana] And now :: AMON AMARTH :: topped it all. Ok, there was ONE downer: no pyros at the Tilburg show! Buuhuu. Rumors said the stage was too small for pyros and the whole stage setting. Well, if you didn’t know that or scrutinized pics from previous shows, it really didn’t struck and didn’t narrow the pleasure of the show at all. There were a lot of CO2 jets, Viking warriors fighting at The Way Of Vikings, which later stood on stage swinging pennants. And of course, the Midgard Serpent appeared at the end of the set.
AMON AMARTH less surprisingly focused on the new album Jomsviking, embedded in songs from the last two records, Deceiver Of The Gods and Surtur Rising, plus a few classics, totally nailing it.
Aaahhh, yes, that I call thrilling melodic Death Metal (and no, no Viking metal!). AMON AMARTH brought that to perfection. Not overly technical but sophisticated and catchy as fuck. It was really great to see how AMON AMARTH enthused their audience. Even without pyros and bits and pieces. That was a bloody great show, indeed, you should have seen at least once. What a great concert night. Thank you Tilburg!
[BRT] Hmmm. I never was an AMON AMARTH fan and I probably never will be. But I wanted to see them playing live at least that once. Most of all to see what people so fascinate when it comes to the Swedes. No doubt, it’s all perfectly made: show, outfits, stage setting, lights etc. The guys are super personable and know how to write that kind of melodic and catchy songs their fans so adore. To me, their songs always were and will be too randomly. Though, AMON AMARTH is a stunning live band that immediately captures their fans. And there were a lot of them at the 013 in Tilburg! ;)
Setlist: The Pursuit Of Vikings, As Loke Falls, First Kill, The Way Of Vikings, At Dawn's First Light, Cry Of The Black Birds, Deceiver Of The Gods, On A Sea Of Blood, Destroyer Of The Universe, Death In Fire, One Thousand Burning Arrows, Father Of The Wolf, Runes To My Memory, War Of The Gods // Raise Your Horns, Guardians Of Asgaard // Twilight Of The Thunder God
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